to help celebrate one of my favorite historical figures in class on friday, we went back in time to the 1960s....but we took a little piece of 2015 with us....SMARTPHONES.

i asked my kiddos, "what if martin luther king jr. had a smartphone in the sixties? what would he find important or inspiring enough to post on his instagram account??" man....you should have seen their faces....it was somewhere between...."is she serious?!" .... "this sounds cool.".... "ok i'm excited, i think?!"

once i explained the template (picturesn above) they got with their partner to start brainstorming what they were going to document for martin's instagram with our ipad minis.

guidelines:

-it had to be appropriate (duh)

-it had to go along with what martin stood for.... freedom, peace, the end of segregation, etc....

-they were able to come up with his account name, the location of where the picture was taken (based on where major events took place in history), how many likes their post received, what martin's caption/comment to the photograph, hashtags, and then they had to come up with two other historical figures from that time period to also comment on the photo.

-the hashtags had to be relevant and appropriate

here are some examples of their finished products!!! i wish i could post all of them....but some had their faces in the photo...and you know....that is a no no for me to post! soooo enjoy!!!

Wednesday

i know i said i would post more in 2014....but man oh man....WHERE has the time gone?!?! i feel like i was just celebrating christmakkah ....blinked....and my kiddos were taking the STAAR test?!?! WHAT?! that is just complete madness & greatness all at the same time....wouldn't you say???
i wanted to give you an inside look to my STAAR review camp aka reading madness....and share how i pumped my 5th graders up for the test the day before!!

go team!!

fun door way decorations!

ok so first reading madness....i used march madness as my theme (see what i did there?!?) for my reading review camp that we do 9 days leading up to the fab STAAR test!! my campus reading specialist (lifesaver) and i sat down and looked at our data to see what objectives my kiddos were still struggling with...we chose 9 of the lowest objectives to serve as our main focus reteach lesson each day of camp. we started each day of camp with our 'reteach' whole group lesson....which lead us into (get ready for it) the 'tip-off' activity... their independent practice activity that they had to finish before getting to do the interactive station work that was located at each of our 9 'home courts'!! once we started our 'tip-off' that is when i was able to pull small groups to do mini reteach lessons and a little extra intense practice time with coach kranz!!

the first days focus lesson for reading madness!!

first of all....we discussed our game time expectations....then talked about how real basketball players have to sign a contract and if they break any of their teams rules their contract gets terminated....sooooo i made an official NHE reading madness contract for each student to sign and i signed them as well....they had to keep their contracts with them in their reading madness folders during game time....
to hold my students accountable for their good sportsmanship during game time and to ensure they were completing their activities at each 'home court'.... i made punch cards for them...they got a punch card booklet that had a page for each 'home court'...3 basketballs that could be hole-punched for good sportsmanship and 3 basketballs that represented the 3 activities that were available to do, when they completed one.... then they got their activity basketball hole-punched for that 'home court'! the day after the STAAR test they are going to be able to count up all the hole punches they got to see what kind of ice cream sundae they will get to build at our ice cream party...the more punches the better your sundae will be! :)

our game time expectations!!
...a little goofy...but it made 'rules' fun!!

official contract!

the outside of their 'stats and plays' folder!!

the inside of the folder....to keep their punch cards, contract, and finished activities!!

each of the punch cards in their punch card booklet

the home court activity baskets....the large jerseys were taped on the floor around the room
to identify where each home courts area was!

ok so you know me....a full out themed camp isn't complete without the FASHION! :) so i created reading madness t-shirts for the 'coaches' that were going to be helping in my classroom during the camp! the first day i wore my home made t-shirt and tried for the basketball player look as best i could....then to try to keep up being festive i wore a dress i had with a sports number on it the next day....then one of my kiddos informed me that it was a 'football' looking "jersey" and that i needed to get it right since we were doing basketball not football...hahaha gotta love 5th graders! :)

transfer paper is THE best!

the front of the t-shirts

coaches!

my football not basketball look.....

whew! did we have a fun 9 days!!! well.....sadly on day 6 i started feeling a little under the weather....i went to the doctor after school to find out i had the flu and the beginnings of a bacterial infection....ALL at the SAME time!!!! i was out for the last 3 days of reading madness....i was SO bummed, but thank goodness our campus reading specialist took over and taught the lessons those three days!! i don't know what i would do without her, seriously!!

which now brings me to our PUMP UP to STAAR lesson we did!!! i'm no joking when i say...this is one of my favorite lessons...it is soooo powerful! i wish i could take credit...but i sadly cannot. this awesome lesson is from one of my best friends named, bo armstong (he actually did this lesson in my classroom last year with my kiddos)!! :)

I showed them a couple clips from the nike 'find your greatness' campaign (links shown below)...they had to write down all the words that came to mind while watching...then they choose their own special word that meant 'greatness' to them....and illustrated it on an index card!! Then we hung all our words on our find your greatness wall to remind us that we all have greatness and extraordinary things inside each of us! I learned some pretty inspiring things from my students today!

Monday

well....2013 was pretty crazy....i feel like i blinked....and it was over. anyone else feel like that?? 2013 was especially crazy for me in the early months preparing for STAAR....for the FIRST time. man o man, i was just a huge stressball from february-april....but all in all it was a pretty jam packed awesome year, i really do have a lot to be thankful for, and looking forward to what's to come in 2014! :)

anyways...i am making a new years resolution (which are always broken...but i'll try my hardest not to) to keep my blog updated with fun things that are happening in my classroom, life, and other tidbits that i feel like sharing! well, because lets face it....i haven't really done a stellar job at that in the past, so fingers crossed i won't let stress get this best of me this year! :)

instead of updating you on some of miss kranz's favorite 'happenings' at the end of last school year through paragraphs of random ramblings (which you know i'm good at) i decided to update you through pictures....my favorite, and i hope yours too....enjoy.....

{i'll update you on more soon....stay tuned!!}

my first experience with standardized testing!!

a still shot from the STAAR video we made at school...to macklamore's thrift shop, of course!

another still shot from our STAAR video!

poster i made for our STAAR pep rally we had in the spring

another poster i made for our STAAR pep rally we had in the spring

a selfie of 'coach kranz' ready for 'reading madness'....a STAAR camp i created...yanno instead of march madness...get it?

i was honored with our schools "CHERYL" award...it stands for Creative Habits for Educating and making Ready Young Learners. i was soooo excited!!

one of my students quick writes....the prompt was, "what is greatness? and what does it mean to you?"

ok so.... another cool thing happened at the end of the school year in may....my extremely talented friend, Bo Armstrong, who lives in new york... decided he wanted to enter in the Cannes 2013 Mofilm Competition; which was a video contest for Reebok's new #livewithfire campaign. reebok wanted real life people that live life with passion/fire instead of the usual famous athletes. when bo contacted me asking if he could use 'Miss Kranz's classroom' for his commercial....i was excited/flattered/nervous that he thought of me as a person that lives with fire/passion.

here is the blurb that he wrote for the commercial:

"All too often we brush aside the "ordinary" as plain and uninspired. In
doing so, we overlook great potential begging to be unleashed. So-called
"ordinary" people who live life with passion can have an extraordinary
impact on those who they reach out to and touch. Miss Kranz is more than
just a teacher --she's an inspired, creative soul with an uncanny
ability to tap into young peoples potential."

Thursday

i'm back!!!!! head on over to my tpt store and pick up new 'trendy' locker tags for your students!!! i am working on putting up each grade level...right now i only have fifth grade up in my store...check tomorrow for the other grades!!

it feels good to be back!! stay tuned for more posts about my first year in fifth grade as the ELAR teacher and all the fun i had this summer!

Friday

since school is just around the corner...i have been doing alot of crafting, cutting, glittering, creating, & DIY-ing....i mean who isn't, right?!?!

not to be biased or anything...BUT i made some pretty cool table signs to have in my classroom this year...i posted a picture on my instagram account (follow me!! @sophieglenn) this morning and was inspired by another teacher/friend/instafollower to scan them in and sell them!!! how smart is that???

sooooooooo guess what?!?!

they are now available in my teachers pay teachers store!! :)

so i think you should click open a new tab in your browser and check them out!!

Sunday

thought that would be the perfect way to start off my first DIY post for the beginning of school...I cannot believe that my summer is almost over!!!...I think it went by even faster this summer....but I say that every year....

this summer was one of the best yet....i got to travel alot, see LOTS of family, catch up with lots of my friends, relax, shop, do nothing, read, pretty much everything that i don't have as much time for during the school year!! it was absolutely fabulous!!

here are some pictures from my instagram (obsessed) to give you a glimpse of my summer....

the bride!! tricia...with the sign i made her for her wedding!she is another good friend from NHE (school)!!

more of my bracelets.

a fav shot while in louisville kentucky

pool time while visiting family in bowling green, kentucky

my mom and i at red bar.fav restaurant in seagrove area.

my dad and i in seagrove, fl

beach.

visiting family in louisville, kentucky!!

whew! that was alot of pictures...hope you enjoyed a little glimplse into my life!! now for the first DIY project i have done for this school year so far...

tissue paper & glitter...what else? haha

tissue paper pom pom balls!! i have been pinning them on pinterest for months now and decided they would at some pizazz in my classroom!!

what you will need...
-tissue paper (at least 10 sheets for each ball)
-scissors
-thin wire

Here are the directions for the pom poms....

1. Choose a pack of tissue paper/color that you would like.

2. Make a stack of about 10 sheets. If the tissue paper is square shaped, you need to cut it to be a rectangle...square will not work.

3. Start folding starting on the shortest side, accordian style...in about 1-2" folds, until the entire stack is folded.

4. Wrap a small thin wire around the middle of the stack to secure it.

5. Trim the 2 ends so they are rounded instead of straight.

6. Beginning on one end, separate each paper one at a time from the stack...pull the pieces of tissue towards the middle wire....pull very gently so it won't tear!

7. Once you've done one side, start on the other side BUT start separating the tissue from the opposite side. ( if you started pulling from the top on your first side, then on the 2nd side pull from the bottom)

8. Then fluff and you'll have yourself a pom pom!!!

It is super easy, and doesn't take long once you've got the hang of it!!

meet the teacher...

i am a twenty something year old in the sixth year of my 'big girl' job. I taught 2nd grade for 2 years...and this will be my 4th year as a 5th grade ELAR/Science teacher!! I teach in the same school district that i grew up in and couldn't be happier!! Hopefully you will find some ideas for your own classroom, have a good laugh, be entertained after a bad day, or at least find some sort of inspiration from me to you.
enjoy.